This seems to only happen when I get calls from my mom. She has Suddenlink with a telephone, internet, tv modem. All her services go through that black box and wire. I guess she has phone through her internet?
I’ll answer the phone and can’t hear anything. Hang up and she’d call back. I’d hear her then. I’ve discovered hitting the cradle button a couple times will get the connection fixed without disconnecting her. This has been happening for months but only intermittently. Maybe every 3rd time that she calls.
I don’t think its my handset cord. Phone always has a dial tone when I pick it up. Never have any problems calling on the phone. The few other calls I get seem fine.
Is there some way a dirty cradle switch could cause this? But why only the audio? The phone is making the connection when its picked up.
Could it be a problem on the AT&T line? I’m buying a new handset cord this week. See if that helps, but I’m pretty dubious it will.
Former BellSouth tech here. From the description you’re giving I would suspect the issue is with your phone instead of the outside plant. This might not be the case if you are on a fully digital system however, it could also be a problem with one if the slc (computer cards that concert your analog signal to digital)cards as well. The way I would have tested this issue is to start asst the jack your phone is plugged into. Plug a different set in and see if you still have the problem, if so the issue it’s with the outside equipment. If not, chances are you have either a lose wire in your set or a failing electronic board. Process of elimination is the best way to get to the bottom of the problem. Are any other phones in the house experiencing the same issue or only the one phone?
I experienced a similar problem in the 50’s. I was babysitting at the Carmichael’s, they had such lovely kids and they paid $.50 per hour. I remember it so vividly, the weather was absolutely horrid,and there was a lunatic terrorizing our Quiet Town. He had escaped from the local Institute for the Criminally Insane, or, the ICI(pronounced Icky). I heard a sound outside and became frightened. I tried to place a call to Klondike 6 400. The line went dead so I tapped the cradle rapidly. Nothing happened. They made a movie about , would you like to see it?
Agreed. Pretty much anything that gets the switching system’s attention will tear down the call these days.
Post-Bell-breakup, most phones are “cheapie chirpers” - the FREE with your subscription to Blah Magazine kind. Back in the day, phones were phones (and could also be used as lethal weapons). In particular, the switch-hook and dial contacts used fingers where one side had a contact shaped like | and the other side had a contact shaped like -. so that there would always be a good strong connection between the two. Phones that were 25 years old would come back, get refurbed, and go back out. Some of those phones are getting on 50 years old now and still working fine. Some people are probably still paying rent on those phones.
I still have analog phones. I normally only answer the master br phone. Thats the one we’re getting the problem with.
I’ll try switching out the phone in my guest bedroom with the one in my master br. See what happens. It may take awhile to know if the problem is gone. Sometimes she’ll call four or five times before we get the problem.
If needed I’ll pay for a service call from AT&T. Got to get this corrected. It’s upsetting my mom and she needs to be able to reach me. She’s 80 now and alone since dad died.
